Tuesday, 29 December 2009

What were the three religious practices found in Mecca before Muhammad's revelations?

The religious
practices found in Mecca before the rise of Islam were of the sort that would typically be
considered pagan. There were three deities who were most central to the Arabic practices at the
time, sometimes referred to as the Daughters of God: The Goddess, al-Lat; The Mighty, or
al-Uzzah; and Manat, a goddess of destiny. There were also many more minor deities beyond this.
The Kaaba, which stands at the center of the great mosque at Mecca, was said to have been
surrounded by 360 idols. These divine beings were not fully personified, but rather were
represented symbolically, with worship directed, for instance, at large stones, or the morning
sun. There were other beliefs in beings that may be understood as supernatural or divine as
well, such as Jinn, or "the subtle ones."

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